After Xu Muchan finished speaking, Wei Xilou lowered his eyes and quietly stared at him with complete concentration.
When he did not speak, there was absolutely no indication that he was actually in a muddled, mentally confused state. It was as though there was no difference between him and before.
Xu Muchan met those deep, dark eyes and inexplicably felt a little embarrassed. He instinctively looked away. But very quickly, he realized that doing so made him lose the upper hand, so he turned his gaze back, slightly raised his face, and looked at him seriously and sternly.
“We should establish three rules.”
Wei Xilou tilted his face slightly, as though waiting for him to continue.
“First, when I go to school during the day, you can’t secretly follow me. It doesn’t matter if I’m used to it, but if another classmate sees you, they’ll be frightened.”
Wei Xilou pressed his lips together without speaking, his ink-black brows drawing together slightly.
Xu Muchan observed his expression and continued, “Second, there isn’t a housekeeper at home right now, so I have to clean everything myself. You can’t pull all the clothes out of the wardrobe and use them as a cushion to sleep on. They’re difficult to put away, and they’ll also get crushed.”
Wei Xilou’s brows furrowed even more tightly.
Seeing that he seemed to have understood, Xu Muchan unexpectedly felt a strange sense of relief and continued, “Third… mm—”
Before he could even begin the third rule, Wei Xilou suddenly leaned forward and kissed him on the lips.
This time, his brows did not furrow. But he still did not speak. His gaze merely wandered repeatedly over Xu Muchan’s face, as though considering where he should kiss next time.
Xu Muchan’s cheeks flushed bright red. He warily took a large step backward and glared at Wei Xilou, gritting his teeth as he quickly said,
“Third, you can’t randomly kiss people.”
Wei Xilou lowered his eyelids. Xu Muchan could not tell whether he had not understood, or whether he had understood but simply did not care.
Xu Muchan was so angry that he turned around twice on the spot, but he had absolutely no way to deal with him. He could not hit him, and if he scolded him, Wei Xilou might not even understand. As for reasoning with him, that was even more like trying to communicate with a chicken and a duck. He seemed to have his own set of rules for how he behaved.
In the end, Xu Muchan could only dejectedly walk toward his room.
“Forget it. I’ll go clean up my room.”
Wei Xilou naturally followed behind him.
Xu Muchan suddenly stopped and turned around, glaring at him unhappily.
“Don’t follow me. Go back to your own room.”
After saying that, he hurriedly closed his bedroom door with force before Wei Xilou could follow him inside.
After putting away the clothes piled on the bed, Xu Muchan took a shower and prepared to sleep. There was no movement outside the door. His elder brother should have already returned to his own room.
Thinking this, Xu Muchan relaxed and lay down on the bed, closing his eyes as he fell asleep.
In theory, without his elder brother beside him, he should have slept very well.
But in reality, Xu Muchan woke up in the middle of the night.
He had a strong feeling that someone was watching him. The gaze was so intense that it made him restless even in his dreams, until he finally startled awake.
Xu Muchan frowned as he turned on the bedside lamp and went to check the bedroom door and windows.
The bedroom door was tightly closed. He opened it and looked outside, but there was no one there. The windows were also securely closed.
The security system in the house had not issued any warning, which meant that no outsider had broken in.
Xu Muchan checked everything and found no problem. He then opened the surveillance feed again and confirmed that his elder brother was also resting peacefully in his own room.
“Could it be that I’ve been too tense lately…”
Xu Muchan muttered to himself, then dropped back onto the soft bed and pulled the blanket up over his face.
After he had fallen deeply asleep, the bedroom door made an extremely faint creaking sound.
The locked bedroom door was quietly pulled open. An extremely tall shadow crouched against the crack in the door, silently and feverishly watching him.
He had not slept well that night, so Xu Muchan woke up somewhat late the next morning. He hurriedly got out of bed, brushed his teeth, and washed his face. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered that it was Saturday.
Xu Muchan immediately breathed a sigh of relief and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for himself first.
He did not have to go to school today, but he did have to make a trip to the research institute.
After returning from Shu’nan City, he learned that the Black River Research Institute also had a branch in Black River. After the flood tide in Shu’nan City ended, the various follow-up operations had continued, but the portion of the report Xu Muchan was responsible for had still not been submitted.
The day before yesterday, Jiang Fang had even contacted him and asked when he would be able to turn it in.
Previously, Xu Muchan had not been particularly enthusiastic about matters concerning the research institute. But ever since he had seen the Black River and his elder brother in his dreams, he kept suspecting that his elder brother’s current condition might have some connection to the Black River. As a result, he had also become much more interested in the research institute.
After learning that Jiang Fang and the others were now at the Jiangcheng branch, Xu Muchan suggested that he go directly to the research institute and discuss it with them in person during his break.
It was also a good opportunity for him to learn more about the research institute’s progress in studying the Black River. Perhaps he might discover something he did not know.
After breakfast, Xu Muchan prepared to leave.
However, before he could even open the front door, a tall, icy body pressed tightly against his back. Wei Xilou wrapped his arms around him from behind, his high nose rubbing back and forth against the hollow of Xu Muchan’s neck as though he were sniffing his scent.
Xu Muchan was tickled by the rubbing and could not help shrinking his neck. He then tried to pry away the fingers wrapped around his waist.
“Big Brother, I have to go out and take care of something important.”
The person behind him completely ignored him. After sniffing enough, he even licked the edge of Xu Muchan’s ear.
Xu Muchan’s ears turned red, and his entire body nearly jumped. But Wei Xilou had him firmly restrained around the waist, so he could only put more force into prying his fingers away.
“If you don’t let go, I’m going to get angry.”
Only then did Wei Xilou release him.
Xu Muchan took the opportunity to break free. He did not even dare look at the person in front of him. He hurriedly tossed out, “I’ll be back early,” then quickly opened the door and escaped.
He really could not handle his elder brother like this.
It was far too intimate.
Although Xu Muchan had never been in a relationship, he was not an ignorant child who understood nothing. Such excessively intimate behavior had clearly already crossed certain boundaries.
But what truly made him flee in embarrassment was not that he could not accept such intimacy. It was that he realized he did not seem to resist it…
He had even gradually become accustomed to such excessive intimacy.
Even after getting into the car, the heat on Xu Muchan’s face had still not subsided.
He took out his earphones and listened to several English listening exercises. Only after that did the burning heat on his face finally fade. He rested his head against the car window, watching the scenery outside rush backward.
The Black River Research Institute’s branch was not very far away. It had been established inside the new municipal government building.
When Xu Muchan arrived, he provided the electronic QR code Jiang Fang had told him to bring, and the security guard let him through.
The branch was much larger than Xu Muchan had expected. After taking the elevator to the thirty-sixth floor, Xu Muchan discovered that the entire floor belonged to the research institute.
There was someone stationed at the front desk. Xu Muchan sent Jiang Fang a message, and Jiang Fang personally came to bring him in. Only then did the receptionist let him pass.
“The research institute strictly prohibits outsiders from entering, so they check pretty carefully. I’ll get you an access pass later. After that, you’ll be able to come and go by yourself.”
Xu Muchan asked curiously, “Why are the checks so strict?”
Jiang Fang lowered his voice.
“This isn’t even considered strict. If you went to the headquarters, that would be called strict. The research institute mainly studies the Black River. Naturally, after all these years, we’ve accumulated some valuable samples. There are quite a few people outside who have their eyes on these samples, so security naturally has to be stricter. Otherwise, they would’ve been stolen clean a long time ago.”
Xu Muchan nodded and followed Jiang Fang into a conference room.
The conference room had a glass door, but it was extremely well soundproofed. Through the glass, Xu Muchan saw He Yunyi, Jin Qingqing, and several other familiar faces, along with several men and women he did not know. They were clearly in the middle of a meeting.
Jiang Fang swiped his card to open the door. The people inside immediately stopped discussing and all looked toward Xu Muchan.
He Yunyi pointed to an empty seat beside her.
“You came at just the right time. We’re reviewing what happened in Shu’nan City. There are some details that aren’t very clear, so you can fill us in.”
Xu Muchan sat down in the empty seat and looked at the map of Shu’nan City spread across the conference table.
A red area had been circled on the map. It was precisely the old city district that had been hit by the flood tide.
“This Shu’nan flood tide gave us a lot of first-hand information that we didn’t have before,” He Yunyi said. “However, after reviewing everything, we discovered that there are still many points that don’t make sense.”
“For example, based on the information we currently have, if the yin energy in an area increases dramatically and there are also a large number of resentful spirits, there is a high probability that it will attract a flood tide. The flood tide in Leigong Village happened because the girls who had been sacrificed to the Mountain God in the past became resentful spirits. Their resentment toward the villagers was too great, and that resentment attracted the flood tide.”
“But the situation in Shu’nan City was slightly different. Although many resentful spirits appeared in Shu’nan City, the controller of the Ghost Domain was not those resentful spirits, but that enormous Prayer Tree. We later looked through Shu’nan City’s records. There had never been a Prayer Tree like that near the old city district in the past fifty years. And according to what you and Peng Ye experienced, most of those who died unjustly and entered the Ghost Domain were lured in, or could even be said to have been deceived into entering. Although their unnatural deaths would naturally produce resentment, normally speaking, this kind of resentment would be difficult to accumulate and would not last for so long.”
Jin Qingqing said, “I think this accumulation of resentment looks more like it was deliberately guided by someone. If there were only one or two, or even a dozen people who died unjustly, their resentment would not be enough to cause a major disaster. But no matter how small the resentment is, if it increases by the hundreds and thousands, while simultaneously being trapped inside the Ghost Domain formed by the Prayer Tree and devouring one another like poisonous insects being raised together, then over time, even a snowball will grow larger and larger.”
Xu Muchan understood.
“You suspect there was a human factor involved?”
Jin Qingqing shrugged at him and said with a smile, “More precisely, I have this suspicion. I’m currently trying to convince everyone else.”
Jiang Fang said matter-of-factly, “It’s not that we’re unwilling to believe you. It’s just that, to this day, we’ve never heard of a Ghost Domain being created artificially.”
Ghost Domains usually appeared alongside powerful, deeply resentful evil spirits. Compared with these inhuman existences, human strength was simply too insignificant. Even those people from the Religious Association were, at most, only somewhat stronger than ordinary people.
Jin Qingqing looked at Xu Muchan and asked curiously, “Can you create a Ghost Domain?”
Xu Muchan seriously considered it for a moment, then shook his head.
“No.”
Jin Qingqing’s expression clearly showed disappointment. The other people in the conference room evidently did not particularly accept the idea that the flood tide in Shu’nan City might have been caused by human actions, so they did not react much either.
But just as everyone was about to skip over the subject and continue the discussion, Xu Muchan said,
“However, there is one thing you may have gotten wrong. Back then, Leigong Village actually had two Ghost Domains.”
Everyone present was immediately startled. Even He Yunyi’s expression turned solemn.
“What do you mean? Two Ghost Domains overlapping? How is that possible?”
Xu Muchan said, “Have you never wondered why the evil practice of sacrificing young girls in Leigong Village continued for so many years, yet these girls who died unjustly only suddenly erupted with resentment now and took revenge on the village?”
“We actually discussed this question before, but we couldn’t come to any definite conclusion. We could only attribute it to the possibility that, coincidentally, their resentment had accumulated enough at this particular moment and finally erupted,” Jin Qingqing said.
The others nodded in agreement.
“After all, there’s no scientific way to explain this sort of thing. There are too many uncertain factors.”
Xu Muchan shook his head.
“Actually, they were affected by me. All these years, I had always believed that I was just an ordinary person. My memories concerning my adoptive parents and my childhood were also very vague. It wasn’t until I returned to the village last time and accidentally saw my own corpse that I learned I had already died a long time ago.”
Xu Muchan simplified his experiences from childhood to the present and omitted Wei Xilou’s existence as well, telling everyone present about them.
“So, after I died, the original Zhou Family actually became a Ghost Domain. Later, I accidentally learned the truth and became the Ghost King. The gathering of yin energy affected those resentful spirits who had died unjustly, greatly increasing their resentment and turning them into new monsters. That’s how the second Ghost Domain came into existence.”
Xu Muchan lowered his eyes and said softly, “The reason I suddenly returned to Yundong at that time was because I saw a Daoist priest at the Xu Family’s home and remembered some things from my childhood. I wanted to find out whether they were true.”
“That Daoist priest was Cui Tong. When he bought me back then, it was because he had taken a fancy to my fate. He deliberately sent me to Leigong Village because he hoped I would suffer enough and die young, becoming a Ghost King. Although I don’t know what unexpected turn of events occurred in the middle, I spent more than a decade believing that I was an ordinary person. In the end, though, I really did become what I am now, just as he wished.”
“So I think Jin Qingqing’s words aren’t without reason. Although Ghost Domains are difficult to create artificially, what if there are other people like Cui Tong who can find a way to raise powerful evil spirits, or even create gods? Then artificially creating a Ghost Domain would not be impossible.”
Xu Muchan’s words silenced everyone present.
For quite some time, the conference room was utterly quiet. Every person wore a solemn expression as they sank into thought.
After a long while, He Yunyi finally said, “I’ll have someone investigate Cui Tong.”
Jin Qingqing also said thoughtfully, “Actually, there’s another reason why I suspect there was a human factor behind what happened in Shu’nan this time. Over the years, we’ve seen quite a few Ghost Domains. Most of these Ghost Domains are related to a person’s obsession, so the Ghost Domains they produce rarely change. If they aren’t discovered or destroyed, they’ll continue maintaining the state they were in when they first appeared. But this time, the Prayer Tree in Shu’nan City actually kept up with the times and even introduced electronic lottery draws. That is extremely abnormal.”
“Instead, I think this was an urgent attempt to lure more people into the Ghost Domain. That kind of behavior is more characteristic of a human being with a clear objective than a resentful spirit or evil entity trapped in an obsession.”
“But what would be the motive for artificially creating a Ghost Domain and attracting a flood tide?”
Someone had begun to feel that Jin Qingqing’s theory was not without reason, but everything had to have a motive.
“Surely it couldn’t just be revenge against humanity and a desire to destroy the world?”
Here’s the close, natural American-English translation, keeping the paragraph structure and character names consistent.
Jin Qingqing’s hesitation was also because she couldn’t figure out the motive. Creating a Ghost Domain to trigger a flood tide was truly harmful to others while benefiting no one. She couldn’t understand why someone with that kind of ability would do something so self-destructive.
Xu Muchan, however, thought of the two Five Wuchang Gods’ heads they had found one after another.
The dog-faced mask had been picked up by Young Master Huang, which subsequently led to the destruction of the entire town and brought on the flood tide; while the monkey head had been inside the trunk of the Prayer Tree. The Prayer Tree had trapped the souls of countless people who had died unjustly, and it too had brought on the flood tide.
But for the moment, he couldn’t figure out what the purpose of bringing on the flood tide was either.
Judging from the results so far, the Black River flood tide would drag every living person in its path into the shallows of the Black River. It was of no benefit to anyone.
Xu Muchan pondered for a moment, then tried thinking about it from another direction.
“If we assume that these events really were caused by someone, perhaps his purpose wasn’t to bring on the flood tide, but to obtain something else?”
“Something else?”
“The Black River.”
Xu Muchan and He Yunyi spoke at the same time.
He Yunyi said, “If it was for the Black River, then it would make sense. So far, our understanding of the Black River is extremely limited, but everyone knows what Black River water can do.”
Seeing the confusion on Xu Muchan’s face, Jiang Fang explained in a low voice, “The Research Institute has obtained some Black River water through various channels. We currently have an experimental program where selected people can drink a small amount of Black River water. If they successfully survive the side effects, there’s a high probability they’ll gain abilities that ordinary people don’t have. They may even acquire a great deal of knowledge that’s never been heard of before… Some of the luckier ones can even establish a connection with the Black River.”
Jin Qingqing pointed at herself and Chai Ming. “We’re the lucky ones who were selected.”
A look of surprise appeared in Xu Muchan’s eyes. Clearly, he hadn’t expected the Research Institute to have a program like this.
He Yunyi said, “This is one of the Research Institute’s more core projects. We can’t tell you too much about it right now. Once you graduate from college and officially join the Research Institute, you’ll be able to access it when you have sufficient clearance.”
Xu Muchan shook his head. He wasn’t particularly interested in the experiment. He was simply curious.
“Besides you, has anyone else ever tried… drinking Black River water?”
Back when he had been at the old Wei family residence, Big Brother had also made him drink Black River water.
Although the Black Tai Sui also originated from Black River water, the Black Tai Sui was actually much gentler. Xu Muchan felt that it might be because the Black Tai Sui had been extracted from the body of another evil entity and had already been digested once, making it much milder.
Even the first time he drank Black River water, he had struggled to endure it. He hadn’t expected these ordinary people to actually dare use it directly for experiments.
Xu Muchan’s questions became more difficult to answer one after another. The people present looked at each other, and in the end, Chai Ming said weakly, “First of all, Black River water isn’t that easy to obtain. Our Research Institute only has a tiny amount of it. And surely no one would be that reckless, right? Our Research Institute has strict regulations, from selecting the participants to determining the dosage…”
The meeting ended without reaching any definite conclusion. But when everyone left the conference room, the expressions on their faces were not particularly optimistic.
Just then, a group of people happened to approach from the opposite direction. The young man leading them saw He Yunyi and walked over to greet her warmly.
“Professor He.”
The man was obviously on good terms with He Yunyi. After exchanging a few pleasantries, his gaze finally shifted to the others. When he saw Xu Muchan standing beside He Yunyi, he visibly paused, looking somewhat puzzled.
“This is?”
He Yunyi said, “This is Student Xu, the one I mentioned to your father before.”
The man looked enlightened and smiled at Xu Muchan.
“So it’s you. Welcome to the Black River Research Institute.”
Xu Muchan frowned slightly and studied him, then politely nodded.
“Hello.”
The young man smiled at him, then said goodbye to He Yunyi. Surrounded by a group of people, he headed toward the other end of the corridor.
Only after they had gone some distance did Xu Muchan curiously ask, “Who was that?”
Jiang Fang said, “That was Ouyang Mu. You know the Ouyang family, right?”
When Xu Muchan shook his head, he explained, “The Ouyang family used to be one of the pillars of the Religious Association. But later, cultivation became increasingly difficult, and with no successors to carry on the family tradition, the Ouyang family gradually withdrew from this line of work and turned to politics and business instead. The Ouyang family has developed quite well over the past decade or so. And because they had ties to the Religious Association in the early years, Ouyang Mu’s father was transferred here to oversee the Religious Association and other supernatural departments.”
“The fact that our Research Institute has been able to develop to where it is today is also partly because of the Ouyang family’s strong support. Sister He has a very good relationship with Ouyang Mu’s father.”
Xu Muchan nodded as though he understood.
These complicated interpersonal relationships had nothing to do with him. He listened casually, then promptly put the matter out of his mind and had Jiang Fang take him to the Research Institute’s archives.
The main reason he had specifically come here today was to look through the Research Institute’s research materials concerning the Black River.
The documents in the archives were divided into different clearance levels. After all, Xu Muchan wasn’t an official employee, so he could only borrow some ordinary materials and records that were publicly available internally.
But that was already enough for him.
He spent the entire day immersed in the archives, going through all the materials and documents he was permitted to borrow before finally taking his leave.
On his way out, he ran into He Yunyi and Ouyang Mu again. The two were heading outside, apparently preparing to leave.
When Ouyang Mu saw Xu Muchan, he took the initiative to greet him.
“Student Xu, you haven’t left yet? Where are you going? We can give you a ride.”
As he spoke, he was standing quite close to Xu Muchan, and Xu Muchan caught a strange smell coming from him.
Xu Muchan frowned, but politely refrained from showing it and declined his offer.
“Thank you. The driver from my house has already arrived.”
Seeing this, Ouyang Mu didn’t say anything further. The three of them left together, with Xu Muchan getting into the car in front while Ouyang Mu and He Yunyi got into the car behind. They then drove off in different directions.
By the time Xu Muchan returned home, it was already evening.
He had eaten dinner with Jiang Fang and Peng Ye in the Research Institute’s staff cafeteria, so there was nothing else he needed to do now. He could simply take a shower and rest.
After showering, Xu Muchan walked around the living room once, but didn’t see Big Brother. Only then did he remember that he hadn’t seen him when he came home either.
This was very unusual.
He walked to the room next door and knocked on the door.
No one answered from inside, so he reached out and pushed the door open.
He saw Wei Xilou lying on the bed in silk pajamas, apparently already asleep.
Worried, Xu Muchan stepped forward to check on him. He was just about to touch his hand when the person who had been asleep opened his eyes at some point and silently looked at him.
Xu Muchan withdrew his hand and muttered softly, “You weren’t asleep? Why didn’t you answer when I called you…”
Wei Xilou didn’t say anything. However, he looked quite well-behaved, unlike his usual self, when he would suddenly cling to Xu Muchan and become even more difficult to shake off than sticky candy.
Xu Muchan felt that something was strange, but he couldn’t figure out what the problem was. He could only say, “Good night,” close the door, and return to his own room.
After he left, Wei Xilou got up from the bed. He stood silently behind the door, looking through the crack as he watched Xu Muchan open the door to the room next door and go inside. Then came the sound of the door closing.
He stood motionless behind the door for a long time. Only after he heard the steady sound of breathing coming from next door did he open the door and walk to the entrance of the adjoining room.
Carefully, he opened the locked door a crack…